Source: The Mercury News
Monday, April 22, 2024
Sky Zone is bringing indoor zip lines and climbing walls to West San Jose
Source: The Mercury News
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Save-the-date for all the 2024 Block Parties
Monday, March 25, 2024
SJC celebrates 75 years with a giant chick in Terminal B
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Introducing San Jose Monopoly!
Sunday, November 19, 2023
Break Stuff - San Jose's "stress relief demolition center"
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
San Jose's Frontier Village Remnants
However, you can find all sorts of remnants and tributes for the theme park at Edenvale Garden Park across from Hayes Mansion. This includes five scale buildings placed where their original structures were and a play structure that is themed after the park's railroad. Next time you are visiting Hayes Mansion, it's worth a detour to check out the park and see how many references you can find related to a shuttered theme park.
Source: SJtoday
Saturday, October 21, 2023
The Bernal Scream Haunted House in South San Jose
I've posted about a lot of family-friendly Halloween events this year. If you’re looking for a more thrilling and terrifying way to celebrate Halloween, look no further than the Bernal Scream, a haunted house attraction located at 620 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123. The Bernal Scream is the creation of father and son duo Mike and Abel Barrera, who started it as a free show in their backyard in 2013. Since then, they have grown it into a commercial attraction that has attracted thousands of visitors and rave reviews.
Unfortunately co-founder Abel Barrera passed away from pancreatic cancer as they were working together on their next haunted attraction. Now, seven years later the dream of finishing what was started by the duo all those years ago is coming to fruition.
The Bernal Scream is not your typical haunted house. It is a high-endurance attraction that is intense. The theme for this year is Lucifer’s Wrath, a dark and twisted journey through the underworld. You will encounter demons, zombies, clowns, chainsaws, and more as you try to escape the wrath of the devil himself.
The Bernal Scream is open every day up to October 31 from 7pm to at least 10pm (Midnight on the 27th, 28th, and 31st). Tickets are $25 for general admission and $35 for VIP admission, which includes front-of-the-line access and a souvenir photo. You can buy tickets online at their website or at the door. The attraction is recommended for ages 13 and up, as again it is very intense and scary.
Friday, October 13, 2023
Día de los Muertos at the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
New San Jose winery open for tastings 🍷
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
100 Things To Do In San Jose Before You Die - 2nd Edition
25% of the entries on the second edition are new, and the rest have been updates with extended tips. I have used the book as sort of a checklist to see how many I can do. The answer is 52. In the 2nd Edition I have been able to do 52/100.
- Hiking Mount Umunhum
- Having a picnic at the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve
- Bike, Blade, and Board at Viva CalleSJ
- Letting your taste buds travel with a Little Ethiopian in Little Ethiopia
- Indulge at Adega (I think this will be updated for the 3rd Edition)
- Pair farm-fresh food with gorgeous valley views at the Mount Hamilton GrandView Restaurant
- Celebrating the geekiest week of the year with Star Wars Day and Free Comic Book Day
If I haven't been super clear, I highly recommend the 2nd edition (even if you have the first). You can get the book in paperback or Kindle form over here.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Santa Clara County Fair
Thursday, July 6, 2023
San Jose Obon Festival in Japantown this weekend!
The San Jose Obon Festival 2023 is a celebration of Japanese culture and heritage that takes place every summer in the heart of San Jose's Japantown (one of only three remaining in the US).
This year, the festival will be held on July 8th and 9th, from 11 am to 10 pm, and will feature traditional music, dance, food, crafts, games, and more. The highlight of the festival is the Obon Odori, a folk dance that honors the spirits of the ancestors. Everyone is welcome to join in the dance, which starts at 7:30 pm on Saturday and 6pm on Sunday.
The festival is organized by the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin and is supported by many volunteers and sponsors. Come and experience the joy and beauty of Obon, a time to remember and celebrate our loved ones and our community.
This is the the largest annual festival in San Jose's Japantown and you can easily find it on 5th Street between Taylor and Jackson Streets. For more details, head over here.
Monday, June 12, 2023
Naglee Park PorchFest returns June 17th, 3-7pm
The Naglee Park PorchFest brought together the neighborhood during the pandemic and is now returning on June 17th. This event turns porches, driveways, and lawns into stages for bands. The Campus Community Association and Messenger events organizes the bands, food trucks, and bathrooms but the real party is being hosted by the neighbors of Naglee Park.
In it's inaugural year--Summer 2020--bands were loaded onto trucks and paraded through the neighborhood while neighbors watched on their lawn. This year they have grown to 10 bands in 10 different locations which you can find on the map below.
It all does down this Saturday from 3-7pm on 12-14th Streets just south of Santa Clara Street.
Tuesday, April 11, 2023
April 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights
This month's highlights:
- SJDA's Street Life team plans to take strategic action that brightens downtown streets with enhanced lighting features meant to appeal to pedestrians, help them feel more comfortable and connect the more active parts of downtown that already exhibit nighttime vibrancy.
- Spirits are high as downtown's outdoor event season opens this month in San Jose with Viva Calle on April 23 and MACLA Family Art Day / SoFA Street Fair doubling up on April 30.
- Five ideas that would contribute to downtown's revitalization are winding their way through the City's budget process for Fiscal Year 2023-24, which begins in July.
- Brenda Zendejas assists with Business Resiliency in Downtown and Alum Rock areas.
- Javier Montoya becomes Groundwerx's first full-time painter.
- Hula Bar and Kitchen, which made its name with food trucks and as stadium food vendors, has opened its first full-time locations on East Santa Clara Street.
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
March 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights
This month's highlights:
- A Downtown Vibrancy team of downtowners handed the Mayor and City Council a list of recommendations of how downtown can improve, and the Council may consider some of them for additional funding in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 cycle. Four other teams dealing with other topics also had some downtown-related suggestions. They are all outlined in the March edition.
- In keeping with the vibrancy theme, San Jose Downtown Association will host a Town Hall Meeting March 9 starting at 4:30 p.m. at Open San Jose, 38 S. Second St. Please attend to learn more about SJDA and how you can get involved in creating a more robust downtown. Register here.
- The other theme of the March edition is about downtown businesses that are going "all in:"
- Cafe Eden and The Loft are back in business after prolonged closures due to Covid and its lingering effects. Their owners explain what got them back in the game.
- New-businesses Slice of Homage pizza and Little Wine House, both grew from pandemic-related roots and feature chefs who spent their years of seclusion wisely in training.
- And "Littlest Little Italy" (Say that fast three times in a row!) just opened. It divides the 5,000-square-foot, former Enoteca La Storia restaurant into five businesses that pair very well with one another.
- Say hello to Mark Michaud, who returned to San Jose and has made his mark in a very short time on keeping downtown clean with Groundwerx.
Please share this subscription information with your neighbors and employees so they can stay up-to-date on downtown business news and information of general interest through Downtown Dimension:
- Click on E-News at the top of SJdowntown.com;
- Click on "Subscribe" near the bottom of most Web pages on SJdowntown.com, or
- Send an email to rjensen@sjdowntown.com with the subject: "Subscribe."
Monday, February 6, 2023
February 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights
Read the FEBRUARY 2023 Downtown Dimension This month's highlights:
Please be sure you click through to read this edition! Business owners and subscribers: Please share this subscription information with your neighbors and employees so they can stay up-to-date on downtown business news and information of general interest. To subscrbe:
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Monday, January 2, 2023
January 2023 Downtown Dimension Highlights
This month's newsletter highlights:
- Downtown Property Owners approved more Clean and Safe services starting in 2023 and Dimension reports on what has already happened and what is planned as Groundwerx ramps up services.
- SJDA Board President Alan "Gumby" Marques writes a letter of hope and optimism for the new year.
- San Jose's City Council approved an extension of incentives for developers to build more residences downtown over the next seven years.
- Restaurateurs Carlos and Fernanda Carreira have ventured into the nightclub business with Noite, on the second floor above their SoFA restaurant Petiscos
- Entrepreneurs continue to invest in downtown. This time, it's The Selfie Spot, a special place to be creative.
- Groundwerx safety ambassador Victoria Manzanares shows how taking the initiative pays off.
Monday, December 5, 2022
December 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights
This month's newsletter highlights:
- Raul Peralez reflects on eight years as San Jose's downtown councilmember. "What we avoided was our biggest win for downtown San Jose," he says. Find out what that is.
- Lights are on along a key block of South Second Street as a collective of non-profits unlock the doors of Open San Jose.
- Restaurateurs continue to invest in downtown San Jose. Introducing the owners of Mommy's Banh Mi, Casa Guzmania and Egghead Sando Cafe.
- Sandy Gomez changed the trajectory of her career much to the benefit of downtown when she joined Groundwerx.
- Aloha Downtown Skate joins Christmas in the Park and Winter Wonderland at the top of the list of downtown events continuing through this month.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
November 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights
This month's newsletter highlights:
- During a month of transition -- the first of its kind at the San Jose Downtown Association -- our new CEO Alex Stettinski absorbed as much as he could from Outgoing CEO Scott Knies, who wrapped up as much as he could.
- At the Annual Meeting Oct. 14, Stettinski expressed his excitement about coming to San Jose and a promise to give downtown his all. And in his final State of the Downtown speech, Knies provided a list of things that have taken up his time and still have not been completed.
- Look for a new holiday tradition on skates and in the Circle of Palms when Aloha Downtown Roller Rink opens Nov. 19.
- Other traditional events return downtown for the holidays, including Christmas in the Park and Winter Wonderland. In November, just about every arts group has something to offer for audiences of all kinds.
- The entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive in downtown San Jose, where several businesses have recently opened. Have a look at the thoughts and dreams of owners of Ashy Aromas, Suerte Eatery, Tiny Keyboard Shop and Woofboard. The list is even longer, so look for more openings in our next edition.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
October 2022 Downtown Dimension Highlights
This month's newsletter highlights:
- BART has made much progress this past month on its plans to bore under downtown to build stations along its line down Santa Clara Street to the City of Santa Clara.
- Caltrain moved to the front of the line, claiming "dibs" on 1.1 million square feet of office development on land it owns in front of Diridon Station.
- This year's Annual Meeting will be unique. We provided a link in the pdf you can link to for easy access to voting for Board members and to fill out the end-of-year survey. The electronic version of Dimension should have more links in the future.
- Celebrate a new batch of Downtown Doors.
- Learn more about Christina Ruiz doing what it takes to earn a nod as Groundwerx Employee of the Month
- San Jose Marriott has a new owner, part of a huge nationwide transaction of resort and upscale urban hotels.
- ABVE the Basics shows how to take over a kitchen to cook up modern Mexican food.
- Businesses can buy transit passes for all its employees for a year and be reimbursed from the City Department of Transportation
- Take a look back at our regular From the Archives feature, which offers glimpses at what was going on 10, 20, 25 and 30 years ago in downtown San Jose.